


Desperate Times Call For Desperate Measures

by jukulele



Category: Julie and The Phantoms (TV)
Genre: Alex and Reggie talk common sense, But also are real Juke shippers, Desperate Luke, F/M, Jealous Luke Patterson, Jealousy, Luke is a literal idiot, M/M, Sad Luke, Sharing Clothes, Smitten Luke
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-14
Updated: 2020-11-14
Packaged: 2021-03-10 01:15:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,670
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27555949
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jukulele/pseuds/jukulele
Summary: “You’re being ridiculous, dude,” Alex scoffed. The fluffy blonde hair on his head moved as he shook his head. “Stop being so paranoid and jealous.”Luke sputtered his next words. “I’m not jealous, okay? It just feels like she likes me less because she never wears my clothes, even after I deliberately gave her my jacket – and that was my favorite jacket!”ORJulie keeps wearing Alex's and Reggie's things, but never Luke's. So Luke hatches a plan to make sure she does. It doesn't go as expected.
Relationships: Alex/Willie (Julie and The Phantoms), Julie Molina/Luke Patterson, Minor or Background Relationship(s)
Comments: 45
Kudos: 449





	Desperate Times Call For Desperate Measures

Luke Patterson was _not_ a jealous guy. It wasn't because he was arrogant or anything, he was well aware that he was a good looking guy. It’s not like he cut all the sleeves off his shirts because he had an overheating problem. If you got it, flaunt it, right? 

But the thing was that he never craved attention either. He didn’t choose to be the front man of Sunset Curve, but given their musical and instrumental abilities, it just worked out that he was the lead guitarist and lead singer. His position meant the attention of their fans – both male and female – was usually directed at him.

So even though he knew he was hot, a fact further proven given his past relationship with Alex and some flirtatious moments between him and Reggie, his lack of desire to be noticed meant he just wasn’t naturally jealous. In fact, he actually preferred it when the attention was turned more to Reggie and Alex (and occasionally Bobby, when he wasn’t being sleazy). That is, until he met Julie.

When the boys met Julie, he knew he was a goner. It was like his ability to breathe – or “ghost-breathe” since they didn’t actually have lungs to breathe (he still didn’t understand that fully, and Willie trying to explain ghost-anatomy to them just made it more confusing) – was purely dependent on Julie’s presence. He felt _alive_ with her near him, like the talent and joy and beauty within her radiated and absorbed into his skin. She was his source of not-life.

It was a weird sensation to crave her attention. It was unfamiliar to say the least, and evidently uncomfortable for any witnesses to see the way he hung onto her every word, always trailing a step behind her movements, like the air she breathed needed to be the air he inhaled. Luke knew that Alex and Reggie loved Julie too, but what him and Julie had was different. He knew their “interesting little relationship” – which he still kicks himself for saying _that_ because “interesting” doesn't even begin to cover the way he sees her – was a once in a lifetime thing. His mom always said, “when you know, you know.” And he _knew_ with Julie.

He tried to hang back and distance himself every so often when he could feel himself getting too intense. His passionate side could be scary and the last thing he wanted to do was scare her away. But then the tug in his chest would be too strong, and he’d be right back at her side, close enough to see every detail in her face but never solid enough to touch.

The past few days he had been trying to distance himself again. Ever since they played the Orpheum and became tangible to her, Luke’s brain, heart, and body went into overdrive. All he could ever think was _JulieJulieJulie_ and it was getting to a point where he could barely play his guitar anymore because his mind would be overwhelmed with the thought of touching her, hugging her, kissing her that he couldn’t multitask and continue to strum. Every time she was near him he would bounce a little more on his heels, trying to contain his energy. He knew he had to take a step back.

But then something weird happened.

Julie showed up to practice in a baggy hoodie, and it took Luke a couple minutes to realize that it was Alex’s pink hoodie. He only knew it because he had bought Alex that hoodie in ’94 for his birthday. (It was supposed to be a sort of “fuck you” to Alex’s parents after they tried to take him to “therapy” to “treat his mind.”) Luke felt a sort of darkness take over his mind for a blip of a second at the sight of her in Alex's clothing, before he returned to his normal joyful self. She looked good in the hoodie, but then again, she made everything look good.

Two days later, Luke went to bother Julie at school, and was surprised to find her wearing another familiar item of clothing – Reggie’s signature red and black flannel. It was tied around her waist, like an accessory to the remainder of her grunge-inspired outfit. A somewhat familiar grumpiness began to take hold of him, but Luke brushed it off, putting on a smile as he waltzed his way to her locker to bother her.

It kept happening. For the next two weeks, every few days, Julie would appear with something of Alex’s or Reggie’s incorporated to her outfit. Alex’s black hat, Reggie’s leather jacket, Alex’s ripped denim jacket, Reggie’s necklace. And every time Luke recognized that it was one of the guys’ things, he’d feel the little green monster awaken in him a little.

He had even asked Alex and Reggie about it, but they both denied deliberately giving Julie their jackets or accessories. She would just swing by when Alex was napping on the couch or when Reggie was admiring Ray to ask if she could borrow something of theirs and they’d say yes, because it’s Julie.

So the next night, after their gig, the three boys stood on the curb to keep Julie company while waiting for Ray to come pick her and Flynn up. Luke noticed her shiver beside him, and without a moment of hesitation (because he had truly been waiting for this moment), shrugged off his orange plaid jacket and slipped it over her shoulders. She grinned at him, mouthing a silent thank you, before tugging it properly onto her body. Luke felt his face beaming at the sight of Julie _finally_ wearing something of his, until Ray’s car rounded the corner minutes later and she took it off to hand back at him. She said Ray would be suspicious if she came back with a jacket that should clearly be in Sweden with the boys, and he tried to maintain a smile as he slung the jacket over his shoulders, purposely ignoring the way Alex and Reggie snickered at how upset he was at what just happened.

And it did bother Luke a little more than he wanted to admit. So he did the most logical subtle thing he could think of – he started to leave his things in more places. He purposely left some sleeveless shirts in her room, on her desk and in her closet, for easy access when she was getting dressed. For the next few days after that, Luke would poof quickly into her room after she left for school to look for any sign of her wearing his stuff, but each deliberately placed shirt seemed to be in the same place he had left it.

Then, he left his shirts on just about every open space in the garage to a point that Alex had to give a stern speech about cleaning after himself because “there is nowhere for us to rest our heads because your disgusting shirts are everywhere!” So came the next logical step – doing laundry.

It was difficult to find a two-hour period where no one was in the house in order for the running washer and dryer to go unnoticed, but once it was done, Luke was certain that this would do the trick. Since she wasn’t wearing any of his clothes because they smelled of his natural scent, the fact that they now smelled like lavender would surely make them a more appealing outfit choice.

But then days passed, his clothes didn’t move from their places in the garage or her room, and she still didn’t wear anything of his.

At this point, Luke was defeated. The whole day he was getting into his own head about what it meant that she didn’t want to wear any of his clothes, but was so comfortable and eager to wear Alex’s or Reggie’s. He kept pulling on his hair and zoning out until Alex and Reggie finally asked what his issue was. Luke was quick to explain his dilemma.

“You’re being ridiculous, dude,” Alex scoffed. The fluffy blonde hair on his head moved as he shook his head. “Stop being so paranoid and _jealous_.”

Luke sputtered his next words. “I’m _not_ jealous, okay? It just feels like she likes me less because she never wears my clothes, even after I gave her my jacket – and that was my favorite jacket!” His arms were raised and stretched out horizontally for emphasis.

Reggie let out a sigh from his position on the couch, still strumming his acoustic bass. “Man, you are dense! Even I can see you guys _ooze_ chemistry both on and off stage.” He looked at Alex, “Am I right?” He wiggled his eyebrows at the blonde.

Alex shivered at the action. “Seriously, Reg, stop saying that. Even if you are right.” Reggie grinned at that, turning back to watch where his fingers danced across the strings. “Why don’t you just ask her if it bothers you so much? Frankly, this whole thing is why I can’t stand being straight,” he motioned his fingers in a circle in front of him to gesture at Luke’s situation. When both guys looked at him with blank stares, Alex stood up straighter. “What? Willie and I trade clothes all the time and it’s not a big deal because no one notices. He just has a little more pink in his wardrobe and I have more print. It’s not as territorial,” he shrugged.

“Fine,” Luke stood with his arms crossed. “I’m going to Julie and asking her straight up.” He turned and poofed out.

Reggie rolled his eyes. “He’s so dramatic.” He sat up and put his bass to the side. “You wanna watch this go down though?” At Alex’s nod, they both poofed out, finding Luke bouncing in place in front of Julie’s bedroom door. Over the past few months they had gotten better about knocking before entering instead of poofing in unannounced, much to Julie’s delight.

“Just go in,” Reggie pushed Luke, forcing him through the door. They _had_ gotten better about boundaries, but they were far from perfect. Reggie grinned and walked through, Alex following suit, shaking his head at the brunette boy’s actions. Alex started to scold Reggie for not knocking _again_ when the two of them came to a halt behind Luke, who had barely moved a few feet inside the room.

Luke was frozen at the sight in front of him. Julie wasn’t up doing her homework anymore, she was sound asleep in her bed. Her hair was tied up in a tight bun, but her covers were thrown to the side since the weather had begun to warm up again. And _oh._ She was wearing his reddish purple button up. As pajamas. To bed. She was sleeping. In his clothes.

Luke’s brain short circuited at the thought – no, the sight – of Julie in his shirt. It was way better than he had ever imagined. His mouth was slightly agape, his heart was beating faster, and his brain was trying to take as many mental pictures of this as he could. His thoughts were interrupted by the giggling sounds behind him. He whipped his head around to see his two best friends fighting to hold in their laughter. “What?” He whispered harshly.

“Dude, you’re so whipped,” Alex laughed out, trying to keep his voice down to not wake Julie up.

“Look at your face, you’re _blushing_ ,” Reggie teased. He was tucked to Alex’s side as they both tried to contain their giddiness over this situation.

Luke immediately felt defensive. “I am _not_ blushing. I _don’t_ blush.” He opened his mouth to further ~~dig himself into a hole~~ defend his “manliness” when a small voice came from the bed.

“Guys?”

Luke whipped around to look at Julie, who was rubbing her eyes and slowly sitting up, letting out a yawn as she woke up from her slumber. He turned to look at Alex and Reggie, ready to blame them, knowing that they were about to be reprimanded for coming in unannounced again, but found both boys waving their hands twice before they poofed out. Luke let out a low groan at his friends’ betrayal, shifting his body to face Julie. “Hey,” he started quietly.

Julie now sat up in her bed, her back leaning against the pillow she previously rested her head on. “What are you doing?” Her usual sassy retort to their surprise appearance in her room was masked with sleepiness, as she fought another yawn.

“I, uh,” Luke sputtered, his eyes trying to soak in the image of _her in his shirt Julie in his shirt Julie sleeping in his clothes_. “You’re wearing my shirt.” _Way to state the obvious, Luke._

Confusion spread over her face, and she gripped the sides of the shirt, hugging herself a little bit. She looked so _small_ in it and it made Luke’s heart soar. “Is this not okay?” Her voice was small too.

Luke realized that his statement came out a little harsher than intended. “No,” he blurted, blushing at his sudden increase in volume and eagerness. “No, it’s fine,” his voice lowered. “It’s just that I uh, wasn’t sure if you liked me.” Luke’s eyes widened immediately. “I mean, my clothes.” Luke took a few small steps forward towards her bed before sitting down, his hand reaching up behind his head to rub at his neck, a nervous tic of his.

The edges of her mouth curled up in disbelief. “What would make you think that?”

Luke shook his head to dismiss it, desperate to change the subject. “It’s nothing.” But one look at her face, and he could tell that she wanted to know more, so he continued reluctantly. “You just wear Alex’s and Reggie’s clothes a lot. In public and stuff. And you never wear my shirts or anything.” He looked down at his lap. Now that he said it out loud, he realized how dumb it sounded.

His head snapped up at the sound of her laugh and _god,_ if he had a choice, _that_ would be the single sound he would want to hear for the rest of his not-life. She looked at him, a twinkle in her brown eyes. “I _do_ wear your shirts, Luke. Just not in public.” The sound of her voice diminished at the last bit of her sentence as her cheeks turned a rosy pink.

He tilted his head in confusion.

Julie realized that he didn’t understand her implication and elaborated. “I kind of use them as pajamas?” She phrased it like a question, as if he needing his approval before continuing. He was still staring at her with wide eyes that had a tint of infatuation behind them. He was really not as subtle as he thought he was. “Well, at least I did last week. They smell like you.” _Like safe, like home_ , Julie thought. “They help me sleep.”

Luke’s mind completely stopped working at the thought of Julie sleeping in his clothes on a daily basis. This wasn’t just a one-off thing! His mouth opened and closed a few times, his body trying to will him to respond but his brain coming up short.

At his hesitation, Julie spoke again. “I actually stopped for a while because they started to smell different. They had this floral scent and it just wasn’t the same.”

Luke internally slapped himself. Let it be known that the one time Luke did his own laundry, he should have actually just left his clothes unwashed.

With his brain still fried and his voice in danger of cracking if he spoke, Luke let out a dopey grin. _Julie did wear his clothes. Julie liked the way he smelled. Julie slept in his clothes. JulieJulieJulie._

“Besides,” she pushed his shoulder lightly with her hand, “I thought it was pretty clear that I liked you the most.”

\---

To prove her point, she wore a different shirt of his every day to school for the next week.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you liked this as much as I enjoyed writing it! Simp!Luke is my favorite.
> 
> Leave a comment below! I love hearing from you guys :)


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